Finance Act 2003

• Permanent Page URL

“Underpayments.

105A.—(1) Unless a notification in writing stating that an amount of excise duty is due has been issued by the Commissioners before the expiry of a period of 4 years from the date of the act or event giving rise to the liability for that duty, proceedings for the recovery of such an amount may not be instituted or other action for such recovery taken, except where there are reasonable grounds to believe that any form of fraud or neglect has been committed by or on behalf of any person in connection with that liability.

(2) In this section ‘neglect’ means negligence or a failure to give any notice, information or record or to make any return required to be given or made under the provisions of the statutes which relate to the duties of excise, and of any instruments relating to those duties made under statute.

(3) This section comes into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.

Repayment of overpaid duty.

105B.—(1) Subject to the other provisions of this section and section 105C where a person has paid an amount of excise duty or interest on excise duty which was not due from that person, the person is entitled to repayment of the amount involved.

(2) The Commissioners are liable to repay an amount under this section only where a claim in writing, or in such other form as they may allow, is made to them for that purpose.

(3) Except as provided by this section or by or under any other provision of the law relating to excise, the Commissioners are not liable to repay an amount of excise duty or interest on excise duty by virtue of the fact that it was not due.

Period for repayment claims.

105C.—(1) For the purposes of this section—

‘excise law’ means the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and instruments relating to those duties made under statute.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) the Commissioners shall not make a repayment of excise duty or interest paid in respect of such duty unless a claim for that repayment is made within a period of 4 years from the date of payment to which the claim relates or from the date of any other act or event giving rise to an entitlement to a repayment.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), where a claim for repayment—

(a) the payment in respect of which, or

(b) the act or event giving rise to an entitlement to repayment, occurs prior to 1 May 2003, subsection (2) shall apply with effect from 1 January 2005.

(4) Where a person would, on due claim, be entitled to repayment of excise duty or interest paid on that duty under any other provision of excise law which provides for a shorter period within which the claim for repayment is to be made, then no repayment shall be made unless the claim for repayment is made within the shorter period concerned.

(5) This section comes into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.

Interest on repayment of duty.

105D.—(1) For the purposes of this section—

‘claimant’ means a person who submits a valid claim for a repayment amount;

‘excise law’ means the statutes which relate to the duties of excise and instruments relating to those duties made under statute;

‘repayment amount’ means an amount which a person becomes entitled to receive from the Commissioners and which is claimed—

(a) within such period (if any) set down in respect of the provision of excise law under which the claim for repayment is made, where this applies, or

(b) in all other cases, within a period of 4 years from the date of payment of excise duty or of any other act or event giving rise to an entitlement to repayment,

but such amount does not include interest payable under this section;

‘valid claim’ means a claim, which includes all information required by the Commissioners to enable them to determine if and to what extent a repayment is due and, where applicable, is furnished in accordance with the provision of excise law under which such claim is made.

(2) Where a mistaken assumption in the application of a provision of excise law is made by the Commissioners and as a result a repayment amount is payable to a claimant, interest is, subject to section 1006A(2A) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , payable by the Commissioners on that amount from—

(a) in the case of an overpaid amount, the date that overpaid amount was received by the Commissioners, and

(b) in all other cases, the date on which the claimant would have been entitled to the repayment amount but for that mistaken assumption,

to the date on which the repayment amount is paid by the Commissioners to the claimant.

(3) Where, for any reason other than a mistaken assumption made by the Commissioners in the application of a provision of excise law, a repayment amount is payable to a claimant but is not paid until after the expiry of 6 months from the date the Commissioners receive a valid claim for that amount, interest is, subject to section 1006A(2A) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 , payable by the Commissioners on that amount from the date on which that 6 month period expires to the date on which the repayment amount is paid by the Commissioners to the claimant.

(4) Interest payable in accordance with this section, shall be simple interest payable at the rate of 0.011 per cent per day or part of a day, or such other rate as may be prescribed by the Minister for Finance by order under subsection (7).

(5) Interest shall not be payable under this section if it amounts to less than €10.

(6) This section shall not apply in relation to any repayment or part of a repayment in respect of which interest is payable under or by virtue of any provision of any other enactment.

(7) (a) The Minister for Finance may, from time to time, make an order prescribing a rate for the purposes of subsection (4).

(b) Every order made by the Minister for Finance under paragraph (a) shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by Dáil Éireann within the next 21 days on which Dáil Éireann has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under it.

(8) The Commissioners may make regulations as necessary governing the operation of this section.

(9) This section comes into operation on such day as the Minister for Finance may appoint by order.”.